1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable fixture. In particular, the present invention relates to a USB cable fixture for preventing a USB connector from being detached or unplugged.
2. Description of the Related Art
A USB cable is used to electrically connect a computer and other apparatuses. For example, input devices such as a mouse and a keyboard are connected through the USB cable to the computer.
A USB connector is disposed at an end of the USB cable. The USB connector is inserted into a mount port disposed on a computer. When the USB connector is inserted into the mount port, a fastening claw in the USB connector is fastened to a fasten protrusion formed in the mount port, then the USB connector is fastened to the computer.
However, if force is accidentally applied to the USB cable, the USB connector may be detached from the computer. One of the reasons lies in the small size of the USB connector. The small size of the USB connector imposes the limitation on the size of the fastening claw. Accordingly, the fastening strength between the fastening claw and the fastening protrusion becomes inevitably weak.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a conventional technique for protecting the USB connector from being detached. As shown in FIG. 2, a mount port 104 is disposed in a side 103a of the computer 103. A USB connector 102, which is connected to a tip of a USB cable 101, is inserted into the mount port 104. A USB cable fixture 105 having substantially horizontal U-shape is attached to the side 103a, as shown in FIG. 2. The USB cable fixture 105 is screwed to the side 103a. A rectangular space is created between the USB cable fixture 105 and the body of the computer 103. The space is penetrated by the USB cable 101. When force is applied to the USB cable 101, the USB cable 101 is supported by the USB cable fixture 105. The force is not directly supplied to the USB connector 102. It is possible to protect the USB connector 102 from being detached.
Also, a connector having a mechanism for supporting an electric wire is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei, 11-329574). As shown in FIG. 3, the conventional connector has a connector housing 201. Electric wires W are connected to terminals (not shown) in the connector housing 201. The electric wires W are bound by a clamp 211. The clamp 211 is connected to an electric wire supporter H1. An attachment groove 205 is disposed in the connector housing 201.
As shown in FIG. 4, the electric wire supporter H1 is inserted into the attachment groove 205 and fixed therein. Even if the electric wire W is pulled, the tensile force is not directly applied to the terminals in the connector housing 201.
However, the conventional connector is not the USB connector. Furthermore, the suggestible fact that the conventional connector can be used as the USB connector is not noted in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei, 11-329574).
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved USB cable fixture.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a USB cable fixture that can be easily attached and detached.
In order to achieve an aspect of the present invention, a USB cable fixture for fixing a USB cable with a USB connector to a computer is composed of a base portion, an attaching portion, and a fastening portion. The attaching portion extends from the base portion in a first direction and is attached to a housing of the computer. The fastening portion extends in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction on an opposite side of the base portion to the attaching portion. The USB cable is fixed to the computer by the base portion, the fastening portion, and the USB connector.
The base portion may have a surface facing the housing. In this case, the attaching portion desirably includes first and second fastening legs, and first and second engaging portion. The first and second fastening legs are elastically deformable, and extend from the facing surface in the first direction. The first engaging portion is provided at a first tip portion of the first fastening leg to engage with a first engaging hole of the housing. The second engaging portion is provided at a second tip portion of the second fastening leg to engage with an second engaging hole of the housing.
Elastic constants of the first and second fastening legs are desirably determined such that the attaching portion is detached from the housing when force having a predetermined strength is applied to the USB cable.
A first height of the first engaging portion from the first fastening leg in a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and a second height of the second engaging portion from the first fastening leg in the third direction are desirably determined such that the attaching portion is detached from the housing when force having a predetermined strength is applied to the USB cable.
In order to achieve another aspect of the present invention, a computer system is composed of a computer including a housing, a USB connector connected to the computer, a USB cable connected to the USB connector and a USB cable fixture attached to the housing. The USB cable fixture includes a base portion, an attaching portion, a fastening portion. The attaching portion extends from the base portion in a first direction and is attached to the housing. The fastening portion extends in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction on an opposite side of the base portion to the attaching portion. The USB cable is fixed to the computer by the base portion, the fastening portion, and the USB connector.
In order to achieve still another aspect of the present invention, a method of fixing a USB cable connected to a USB connector is composed of:
connecting the USB connector to a computer; and
attaching a USB cable fixture to a housing of the computer to enclose the USB cable by the USB cable fixture, the housing, and the USB connector.
The attaching may include engaging a first engaging portion provided on the USB cable fixture to a second engaging portion provided on the housing.